


Time

by celeste9



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Banter, First Kiss, M/M, Secrets, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 15:22:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1946202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The secrets are yours," May said. "To keep or to... not keep." (spoilers for AoS season 1, Cap 2)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is an amalgamation of the MCU (including AoS) and Matt Fraction's Hawkeye comics, but no comics knowledge is necessary to understand what's going on. Spoilers for AoS season 1 and vague spoilers for Cap 2.

“I think it’s gone cold, sir.”

Phil startled, blinking at May from across the table. “What?”

She nodded at the mug Phil was still clenching in his hand. “Your coffee.”

Raising the mug to his lips, Phil took a sip, grimaced, and then set it back down, releasing his grip. “I guess I was lost in thought.”

May pulled out a chair and sat, keeping her gaze on Phil. “Understandable. It’s been a trying few… Well, it’s been trying.”

“You’ve always had a gift for understatement.”

Smiling faintly, May said, “Fury kept a lot of secrets when he was the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“I’d say you were stating the obvious, but then that would put us in a pot-kettle situation.”

“I only meant that you’re the director now, so the secrets are all yours.”

“Yes?” Phil prompted. He had no idea where May was going with this.

“The secrets are yours,” May repeated. “To keep or to... not keep.”

“May...”

“I just think that maybe you might be happier if you let a couple of people in on a thing or two.”

Phil sighed. Melinda May knew him far, far too well. “Maybe one thing in particular?”

“And a person in particular as well.”

“Or two,” Phil said, looking away from May and towards the cabinets, though he wasn’t really seeing them.

“Or two,” May agreed, and Phil could hear the smile in her voice.

-

Phil found Clint in New York. He was living in Bed-Stuy, of all places, with a dog of indeterminate heritage, and a teenage girl who was there more often than not. Kate. She called herself Hawkeye. Phil liked her already.

It was easy enough to let himself into Clint’s apartment while it was empty. Clint had taken the dog when he went out as well. The dog might have been a problem. At the very least it would have been noisy, and Clint seemed to have a lot of neighbors who had an interest in him.

That was good. Clint could do with more people caring about him.

The apartment was much as Phil would have expected. Simple, cluttered, functional, the couch old but comfortable. It was on the couch that Phil waited, settling himself in like he wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t nervous. He was Phil Coulson. He didn’t get nervous.

He was expecting Clint to know he was there. He’d turned the lights on, after all.

In any case, the nocked arrow wasn’t a surprise. Neither was the dog growling.

Phil got to his feet while Clint just stared at him, still firmly holding his bow, and the dog bared its teeth. Phil outstretched his hand.

The dog looked to Clint, and then to Phil. It edged closer and sniffed Phil’s fingers.

It licked his hand.

Clint lowered his bow.

“What the fuck,” Clint said.

Phil tried to look disarming, shrugging his shoulders. “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”

“An exaggeration,” Clint repeated. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and went to set down his bow. He looked at Phil again. “What the fuck? Where were you? We thought you were _dead!_ ”

“I’m sorry,” Phil said, lowering his eyes to the dog, who was sitting on its haunches and giving Phil a reproachful look.

“I just… I thought…” Clint started to take steps towards Phil, slowly, until he was standing right in front of him. “I thought you were dead,” he said, and curled his fingers around the back of Phil’s neck to hold him in place while he caught Phil’s mouth in a kiss.

There was a part of Phil that knew he should be surprised. This… This wasn’t something they did. This was just something Phil had wanted to do but knew he shouldn’t. They didn’t have room in their lives for this sort of complication, the sort of complication that could get people killed.

He wasn’t surprised, though. He just clutched Clint’s hips, rubbing his fingers over Clint’s skin through his clothes, and swallowed Clint’s breath. He didn’t know what he was doing but that had begun to be par for the course.

The dog whined and scratched at Phil’s leg.

“Lucky,” Clint said, pulling away from Phil and frowning.

“Lucky?” Phil said.

Clint shifted. There was a flush in his cheeks and his mouth looked wet and Phil was thinking highly inappropriate things. “His name was Arrow and, well, come on.”

Phil was startled into a laugh. “Only you would find yourself a dog called Arrow.”

“Nah, he found me, really.”

Lucky barked, his tail thumping against the floor.

“Go lie down somewhere,” Clint said to him. “There’s pizza in it for you if you leave us alone.”

Lucky barked again and trotted off, towards where Phil had found the bedroom earlier. Phil wondered whether Clint let the dog sleep in the bed with him. He probably did. The image was oddly appealing.

“I was half-expecting you to hit me,” Phil said, turning back to Clint.

“I considered it. I still might.”

“If my opinion counts for anything, I much prefer our current course of action.”

Clint’s smile was bright. “I thought you might.” He touched his fingertips to the line of Phil’s jaw, stroking lightly. “We need to have a conversation.”

“Yes,” Phil agreed.

“But right now I just want to do this.” Clint kissed him again.

If their first kiss had held a tinge of desperation, their second was a slow, leisurely exploration. Every touch seemed to send an electric tingle up Phil’s spine and he wanted more, more contact and more heat and just _more._ More Clint. They should have done this years ago.

“Well, I have to admit this was not what I was expecting to see when I came in here. Not even close.”

They broke apart and Phil would have been upset at himself for not noticing that someone else had entered the room except that it was Natasha. Different rules applied to Natasha.

A girl stepped out from behind her, slim and dark-haired. Kate. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d guess you were the mysterious Agent Coulson I’ve heard so much about, mostly in drunken rambling, but that would be ridiculous because you died during the Battle of New York.”

Clint’s ears had reddened while Kate spoke, but all he said was, “Coulson’s not dead.”

Natasha gave nothing away in her expression, but there was an amused light in her eyes. “Yeah, I kind of got that when I saw you sucking his face off.”

“Gross, by the way,” Kate added.

Clint looked at the two women for a second and then glanced around the room, as if a thought had just occurred to him. “Did you… Did you come in through the window?”

“You should really put a lock on that,” Natasha said.

“I gave you a key. I gave both of you keys!”

Kate shrugged and then squatted down on the floor as Lucky came racing over to her, slurping her face with his long tongue. “Hey, boy.”

Natasha moved closer to Phil and Clint, raking over Phil’s body with her eyes. “I’m guessing the making out thing means you’re not a clone or anything else I should be worried about.”

Something must have shown on Phil’s face because Natasha’s lips tilted slightly downwards into a tiny bow of a frown. “That’s okay, we’ll figure it out. I’m glad you’re not dead,” she said, and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

“I’m feeling very conflicted right now,” Clint said.

“Oh, God, I really don’t want to know,” Kate said, straightening. She snapped her fingers and said, “Here, Lucky,” getting him to follow her obediently as she headed down the hall.

“She loves me really,” Clint said, and it made Phil smile like some silly, smitten teenager.

How embarrassing. He addressed Natasha to divert attention. “I heard you were right there when it went down, Natasha. With Pierce.”

“You know me. Saving the world with Captain America, that’s just what I do.” Natasha paused for a second and then said, “Me and Steve, we’re tight now. I could get you an autograph. You could add it to your collection.”

“Funny,” Phil said. “I’d forgotten how funny you are.”

Natasha’s lips quirked slyly. “Most people do.”

“Steve,” Clint muttered, nearly pouting. “Steve’s not so great, you know. Anyway he’s gone off-grid while he searches for lost causes.”

“Oh my God,” Natasha said. “You’re jealous of Steve.”

“Am not!”

“You’re adorable.” Natasha reached out to pat Clint on the cheek.

“Shut up,” Clint said and looked to Phil for rescue - or at the very least, a distraction. “Okay, time for explanations now. You owe me.”

“Us,” Natasha added, joking no longer.

Phil could read the seriousness of this in their faces, and the pain. He had left it too long.

“Okay,” he said, and sat on the couch, Natasha and Clint settling down on either side.

May had been right. This secret was his now, to do with as he pleased. It was time he shared.

It was time to rebuild.

**_End_ **


End file.
